The treasures of Amzot entice all who are brave enough to venture there. But the bounty of the planet is not without its protectors. Your Major Spoilers review of The Herculoids #1 awaits!

THE HERCULOIDS #1

Writer: Tom Sniegoski
Artist: Craig Rousseau
Colorist: Omi Remalante Jr
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Editor: Joseph Rybandt
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 5th, 2025

Previously on The Herculoids:  Hidden in the furthest reaches of space, the planet of Amzot is legendary for its fabled riches and for the terrible fates that befall anybody who seeks to exploit them, because the planet is also home to The Herculoids.

CALL TO ACTION

The Herculoids #1 opens with a meeting in a bar, where one man claims to have not only found his way to Amzot, but had even stepped foot on it. He tells the story of how his team had reached the planet, but were quickly dispatched by the inhabitants, leaving only him as a warning for others. The other part of the meeting doesn’t heed the warning and forcibly removes the information from the other man’s head with a device. He and his crew then set out for Amzot. When they arrive, they catch the attention of Zandor who blows his horn to alert the rest of The Herculoids. Igoo, Zok, Tundro, Gleep, Gloop, Dorno, and Tara all come running towards the sound of the alert. The intruders set fire to a forest to create a landing zone and then begin setting up a base. Much like the previous story, The Herculoids descend upon them and quickly get to work, making the interlopers regret their decisions.

MORE INTRODUCTION THAN ANYTHING

The Herculoids #1 does a great job at introducing the reader to the planet Amzot and The Herculoids. It does such a good job at it that it decides to do it about three times. Between the brief narration at the beginning, the man’s story at the bar, and the events that happen when the new team arrives on Amzot, there’s a lot of reinforcement of the idea that The Herculoids are pretty awesome and dangerous. But we don’t get anything other than that. A few brief exchanges between Dorno and Gleep and Igoo’s reaction to seeing the forest burnt, hint at some personality, but that’s the extent of what we get. Also, there’s no narrative hook to pull readers beyond the pages of this issue. There’s no cliffhanger, or mystery, just The Herculoids beating the crap out of some aliens. Not to say that this isn’t satisfying in its own way, but it’s a fleeting satisfaction because it doesn’t lead to anything else. This is clearly an attempt to replicate the success that they’ve found reimagining Space Ghost, but it doesn’t hit the mark, mostly due to its problems with tone. It can’t quite settle on whether it wants to be a more violent and brutal take on the characters or keep with the lighthearted adventure tone that the original cartoon had. Because we do see some pretty strong acts of violence here, but also a young boy joking and playing with a giant blob of gelatin and they are just too far away from each other on the spectrum for it to feel cohesive.

WHO NEEDS FACES?

The visuals in The Herculoids #1 are mostly fine. The style of this book finds a nice balance between the flat colors of the original cartoon and more dynamic and interesting framing that the cartoon could never do. There are some moments though, when the style can’t seem to manage characters in the distance, so instead of trying, these characters become roughly humanoid shapes without faces. It wouldn’t have been so noticeable if it wasn’t for the fact that in these moments, that character is speaking, so what you end up with is this character that looks more like a rough sketch than a fully realized drawing, having a dramatic moment, and it just doesn’t work.

BOTTOM LINE: A STUMBLE ALL AROUND

There are things to like about The Herculoids #1. All the build-up for how cool these characters are is fun and creates some nice tension for when they are finally revealed. There’s definitely the nostalgia factor in effect. But there’s nothing here to build a series on. The plot in this issue is paper thin and there’s nothing to follow up on in the next issue. Also, some odd choices tonally and visually make this just not a very enjoyable read. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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The Herculoids #1

47%

47%

Not Doing the Trick

The Herculoids #1 looks to try and capture the same magic that some other recent revivals have managed to do but doesn’t do nearly enough to make this at all interesting beyond seeing some old cartoon characters in a new light.

• Writing

  4
• Art

  4
• Coloring

  6
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0